In this episode, John and Dave cover a mix of retro gaming hardware, emulation history, and hands-on tinkering with old and new tech. They start by discussing Nintendo’s new Virtual Boy accessory for the Nintendo Switch, reflecting on the strange legacy of the original system and what it’s like to experience those games today. The conversation then dives into the fascinating story behind the Nintendo/Sega/Namco Triforce arcade platform and the effort to preserve and emulate these unique arcade systems. Dave also shares a retro-computing adventure recovering files from 1990-era floppy disks by rebuilding a DOS environment and reinstalling Microsoft Works on modern hardware. Finally, they wrap up with an update on Dave’s long-running Commodore 64 project recreating the classic Mattel handheld football game, and how modern AI coding tools are now helping move the project forward.

Topics discussed in this episode

• Nintendo’s new Virtual Boy accessory for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2
  https://www.nintendo.com/en-ca/store/products/virtual-boy-for-nintendo-switch-2-120829/

• Nintendo announcement and details about the Virtual Boy accessory rollout
  https://www.nintendo.com/en-ca/whatsnew/virtual-boy-accessories-for-nintendo-switch-2-and-nintendo-switch-now-available-for-pre-purchase/

• Dolphin Emulator blog post: “Rise of the Triforce” — the history and emulation of Nintendo/Sega/Namco’s arcade platform
  https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2026/02/16/rise-of-the-triforce/

• Dolphin Emulator project website
  https://dolphin-emu.org/

• MiSTer FPGA project (used for recreating vintage computer environments)
  https://mister-devel.github.io/MkDocs_MiSTer/

• MiSTer ao486 core for running DOS-era PCs
  https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/ao486_MiSTer

• Microsoft Works archive and documentation (classic DOS productivity suite mentioned in the episode)
  https://archive.org/details/microsoft-works-1.0-1.05-1988-05-english-5.25-360-kb-packard-bell-oem

• AtariAge forums discussion of the classic Mattel handheld football game
  https://forums.atariage.com/topic/90135-1970s-mattel-classic-football-led-handheld-game/

In this episode, John and Dave talk about discovering ZimaOS and building an affordable home lab using repurposed hardware - and how that single setup quickly expands into media streaming, network-wide ad blocking, ROM organization, browser-based retro gaming, backups, and local services. Along the way, they also touch on the Commodore 64 Ultimate, a Sega Channel preservation project, a retro electronics repair simulator, and why digital preservation and self-hosting matter more than ever.

Topics & sub-topics discussed:

• ZimaOS - app-based operating system that makes home labs approachable
  https://www.zimaspace.com/zimaos

• Home lab fundamentals - NAS, backups, ad blocking, VMs, and always-on servers

• ROMM - organizing ROM libraries with metadata, artwork, and downloads
  https://github.com/rommapp/romm

• EmulatorJS - play retro games directly in your web browser
  https://emulatorjs.org

• Jellyfin - self-hosted media streaming without subscriptions
  https://jellyfin.org

• The 8-Bit Files Podcast & Discord
  https://the8bitfiles.com

In this episode, Dave dives into the newly announced Commodore 64 Ultimate - a modern, FPGA-powered revival of the classic C64 - and compares it to his previously acquired Ultimate 64 Elite II board. He breaks down the different editions, pricing tiers, and what makes this official reboot stand out in a crowded retro hardware scene. John talks about modding his original Atari 2600 with a composite video output and the guys also check out the impressive MovieCart, a full-motion video cartridge for the Atari 2600, revisit the just-announced THEC64 Mini Black Edition, and discuss the surprise return of Compute!’s Gazette. Plus: John explains why he returned his preorder for the My Arcade Atari Watch.

🔗 Links & Resources:
Commodore 64 Ultimate: https://www.commodore.net
Ultimate 64 Elite II: https://ultimate64.com/Ultimate64
THEC64 Mini Black Edition: https://retrogames.biz/products/thec64-mini-black
MovieCart for Atari 2600: https://movieroms.com/moviecart/
Compute!’s Gazette Subscription: https://www.computesgazette.com
Podcast + Discord + Contact: https://the8bitfiles.com